


The Trickster's Heart

by Stariceling



Category: Meitantei Conan | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: F/M, Magic Tricks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-18
Updated: 2012-06-18
Packaged: 2017-12-06 04:40:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/731535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stariceling/pseuds/Stariceling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Running into Sonoko at a heist, KID decides to entertain her with a few tricks and ends up getting rather closer than he intended. (Rated for future sex)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Trickster's Heart

“So this is ‘Loki’s Heart?’ Kaito Kid has good taste as always, doesn’t he?”

“All this fuss over one damnable sneak-thief! Oh, but of course I would be content if his eye for gems is half as fine as yours, young lady.”

Actually, Kaito was of the mind that he was practically doing everyone a favor just by offering to steal the hideous thing. The central moonstone, Loki’s Heart, was large enough to tempt any thief and masterfully cut, but the overly gaudy setting it resided in managed to detract from the effect. Smaller sapphires of every color that a sapphire could ever come in clustered around in a haphazard rainbow, but he was as sure as he could be without actually getting his hands on it that most of them were fake. The tiered ropes of pearls that made up the rest of the necklace were probably real, but just added more confusion to the clutter of gems. Of course, taste aside, he had a very good reason for bothering to steal this particular gem.

“I’m sure you’ve heard, how this moonstone changes color when worn by a beautiful woman. It has always been worn by young ladies marrying into our family.”

There was the stone’s owner, bragging again. Or more accurately, attempting to flirt with a girl several years younger than his own children. Kaito had recognized her voice immediately. After all, he had already met Sonoko several times under various guises, what with her family having so very many treasures to tempt him with. What surprised him was when he finally got a good look at the area around her and found she had apparently come without her best friend.

“I hope you warned your son that’s no excuse to skimp on a wedding ring!” She seemed to be playing along with the old lech, hiding a laugh behind her hand with a deft movement that kept him from ‘accidentally’ touching her arm.

If it was a question of personal taste, Kaito would have preferred the far more simple jewel Sonoko was wearing to the showy thing in the case beside her. It was definitely too small to be what he was after, and the main appeal of the classic blue sapphire she wore was the way it drew the eye directly to the tempting peek of cleavage showed off by her dress. Then again, it might just be that he had gotten into a habit of swiping jewels from around lovely lady’s necks. That had been the case for his last few heists now.

He made sure to take his eyes away from Sonoko after just a brief moment of observation. For now he was effectively invisible in the role of a polite young waiter, but openly staring at one of the guests could be enough to change that. He made a mental note that Sonoko seemed to be more of a social butterfly than usual without Ran’s company. The host wasn’t the only one trying to get her attention.

The entire heist was turning out to be even more simple than he had planned. The catering company assumed he was with the house staff while the staff assumed he was with the caterers, all of them far too busy to bother checking too closely. He didn’t even register with the guests any more than was necessary to retrieve a champagne flute or leave an empty glass with him. Out of his usual following of detectives, only Nakamori-keibu was here, prowling around the ballroom like a caged animal because the target he was meant to be protecting had once again demanded security be kept low-key. Kaito almost worried about the man’s blood pressure on nights like this one.

Security was not just low-key, but frankly insulting to his talents. Even if the lock wasn’t something he could have picked during any of the passes he had made to check the jewel inside (one-handed, without looking, and probably while chatting up one of the curious trophy wives gathered around it to boot), the necklace wouldn’t even be staying in the dubious safety of that glass case for more than another hour. The host’s son would be presenting it to his fiancé as a showy highlight to their engagement party.

Letting himself get bored was far too dangerous, but without meaning to Kaito caught himself turning to people watching. Sonoko caught his eye once again and he had to re-evaluate his earlier classification of social butterfly. She wasn’t the insect in this picture, more like a flower being surrounded by far too many droning bees. He had noticed the population of the party was too heavy on older men and definitely sparse on attractive women, but watching the result still set off an unexpected itch of irritation between his shoulder blades.

When Sonoko excused herself and started moving towards the refreshment tables he quickly altered his path to intersect hers there. He expected the way she clasped her hands together, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the night sky, the little sigh of, “Kid-sama, how long will you keep me waiting?”

What he didn’t expect was for her to turn and lift the last champagne flute from the tray he was still carrying. She caught his eyes and pressed one finger to her lips, that little glimpse of melancholy as they both waited for the best part of his heist quickly swept away with the playfully naughty gesture.

Right now he had to play the character that went with the face he had chosen for tonight, too subtle and polite to scold her about underage drinking. Not that he would have anyway, especially not when she paused in the middle of taking a long sip of the champagne and licked the rim of her glass. For a few seconds he found himself transfixed as he watched her mouth.

He wanted to touch her lips. He wanted to tell her that her poker face was no good if she was going to drop it while someone like him was still watching her, that she was far too easy to read, all bored loneliness and dissatisfaction. Neither option would be particularly appropriate for the role he was playing right now.

However, he did have some time free to make the evening a little more entertaining for both of them.

When she turned to put the empty champagne flute down he moved to intercept. A snap of his fingers to get her attention, the hand infinitely faster than the eye, and suddenly there was a white rose resting in her glass.

“Did you just. . . ?”

“Sorry,” he laughed. “I just thought if you’re a fan of this Kaito Kid, you must like magic, right?” For him the real challenge in that simple trick was not to sound as confident as he felt.

“I like it.” Her smile wasn’t the polite facade of a society girl this time. He had her attention. “I’m not very good at it, though. Do you know any other tricks?”

As she asked she plucked his rose out of her glass and sniffed it appreciatively. The sight of her slightly parted lips brushing those soft white petals distracted him for a further few seconds.

Firmly pulling himself together, Kaito took the empty glass from her and set it aside on the table. His mind was quickly sorting through different possibilities, putting together the best set for the occasion. Nothing so complex or flashy that it might give him away, something his current ‘character’ could put together on the spot.

“I know a little,” he admitted, not about to give away any of his secrets. Instead he opted for a more conventional routine. “Like this. Nothing up my sleeves.” He showed her, falling easily into playful showmanship. He curled one hand into a fist and tapped it with his finger. “And three, two, one-”

Without the aid of smoke or confetti he simply flicked his fingers up and outward to add a little flair. Held in his formerly empty palm was a linen napkin folded into a bird-of-paradise shape.

The simple trick was enough to make Sonoko laugh, which was gratifying enough for him. At least, until he let her take the napkin from his hand.

“Wait, did you get this off the table just now?” She turned it over in her hand. “It has the family crest embroidered on it here.”

“Um,” he hedged. He hadn’t expected her to notice.

“How did you fold this so quickly?” she asked, obviously impressed.

“Far too much practice?”

That made her laugh again. Unfortunately Kaito couldn’t enjoy the reaction as instinct suddenly prompted him to take in more of his surroundings than the people nearest himself, his goal, and his preferred exits.

He had developed a certain sensitivity to the sound of angry policeman, even when he was too far away to properly make out the words. From the fuss that was being kicked up he guessed that someone had discovered the security guard whose identity he had briefly ‘borrowed’ on his way in sleeping in one of the guest rooms. Now that Nakamori had physical evidence that he was here things would be edging up to the next level of difficulty.

Kaito hadn’t been cocky enough to count on Nakamori not being allowed to test the guests, but this could get a little inconvenient. For one thing his play time with Sonoko was definitely over.

Actually that could make things a little tricky, since she apparently wasn’t done with him, if the way she grabbed onto his arm was any indication. The soft press of her breasts against his arm as she moved in was a distraction he really couldn’t afford.

“You’re not going to abandon me already, are you?”

“Well, I do have to get back to work, or- um. . .” Kaito had to force himself not to look around at the policemen who had started circulating through the party with more purpose than before. Looking nervous would only draw their attention faster.

“Just let me show you a trick of my own, first.”

He tried to edge away while Sonoko was digging through her purse, only to have her little hand catch at the front of his shirt and drag him back. He could hear Nakamori, not even a meter away, waylaid by an argument with their host, and out of the corner of his eyes he tracked the policeman who was approaching, checking guest by guest. He couldn’t afford to have her make a scene right now, but if she didn’t let him go he would be in just as much trouble.

Sonoko had fished a compact out of her purse and snapped it open. Now she licked the thumb and index finger of her right hand and touched them to her bright pink pad of blush. Before Kaito could make another attempt to sidle away she reached up and gently pinched his cheek, not nearly hard enough to tear the flexible mask he was wearing.

While he resisted the instinct to put his hand to his face, Sonoko used her left hand to pinch hard at her own cheek, with a cute little wince as she did it, so that they matched.

Whether her little ruse would work would be put to the test in a second. Sonoko gave him a conspiratorial wink as the approaching policeman appeared over her shoulder.

“Excuse me, miss.”

Kaito gave their challenger a once-over from behind Sonoko. He was going to the trouble of showing them his badge, holding it discreetly even though everyone in their vicinity already knew or would soon know what he was questioning everyone about. He was young, clean-shaven, with an earnestly serious air about him. Whatever look Sonoko was giving him after seeing his badge, it was obviously making him nervous. The odds didn’t look particularly promising for him.

“What do you want from us this time?” Her arm had gotten caught around Kaito’s again, making them a matched set in the policeman’s eyes even while keeping most of his attention on her.

“We have reason to believe that the notorious-”

“Right, right, you think the Kaito Kid is one of the guests now. Your partner already said that.” Sonoko pointed over at Nakamori, who was currently getting his face pulled by their angry host in retaliation. Even Kaito was impressed by how neatly that timing worked out.

“Pardon me. Then you already know why I have to check everyone.”

“What do you mean, ‘check everyone?’ How many times are you going to bother us over and over while ignoring people who have already been acting suspiciously all night!”

Between the marks on their faces and what Sonoko had said, their policeman had obviously put two and two together and gotten exactly the answer they wanted him to have. That, and the aura of angry socialite Sonoko was putting up was powerful enough that even Kaito wasn’t sure he wanted to be that close to her right now, and she was on his side.

Besides, like any master of misdirection, she had given her target something far more appealing to focus on.

“And could you show me who it is you say has been acting suspiciously?”

“Him.” Sonoko pointed out one of the other guests without hesitation. “He’s been leaning all over the case with that jewel your thief wants.”

With a quick word of thanks, the policeman made a beeline for his new target. Sonoko watched him go, looking entirely too pleased with herself. Kaito could already tell the guest she had pointed out was very drunk, and would possibly be enough trouble for them to be forgotten.

“Wasn’t that a little dangerous? What if I really was the phantom thief?” Kaito lowered his voice as he moved a little closer against her back. Had she really found him out? Or was she just guessing and gambling because she liked the idea of the him who had approached her being the Kaito Kid?

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” She retrieved and unfolded the napkin he had just given her and wet one corner in her mouth. “Besides,” she continued, “if Kid-sama went and disguised himself as one of those dirty old men he deserves what’s coming to him.”

The strangest thing about wearing one of his masks was definitely how it felt when someone touched him. He could feel the touch of her hand when she delicately wiped away the mark on his cheek, but the warmth and the feeling of skin-on-skin didn’t carry through to his real face.

Cute and helpful as she might have been, he wasn’t going to give up any solid clues as to his identity. Besides, the part of him that might have liked to keep flirting was completely outweighed by the fact that he did have a real finale to put on for this crowd, and besides that they were starting to attract a little more attention than was comfortable.

“I really do have to get back to work,” he excused, and let her take that however she wished.

“Only if you promise you’ll show me another magic trick later,” She teased, but with a willful look that implied she really did expect it.

“I’ll do my best.”

There would be, of course, the impending spectacle as he received Loki’s Heart, but that wouldn’t be the end of the evening now. If he could take the time for something a little more personal. . . well, Sonoko was his fan, after all. Why not try for a special performance?


End file.
